


Marry me?

by BestDeadFriendsForever



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: 5+1 Things, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-15
Updated: 2020-02-15
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:42:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,179
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22727080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BestDeadFriendsForever/pseuds/BestDeadFriendsForever
Summary: The five times that Buck asked Eddie to marry him and the one time that Eddie asked Buck
Relationships: (past) Eddie Diaz/Shannon Diaz, Evan "Buck" Buckley & Christopher Diaz & Eddie Diaz (9-1-1), Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz
Comments: 23
Kudos: 498





	Marry me?

  1. **Abuela’s party**



Eddie knew that he shouldn’t worry about Buck coming to his abuela’s birthday party. Abuela adored Buck- almost to the point of making Eddie a little jealous with how much- and Buck never failed to make Aunt Pepa laugh brightly. But since it was a milestone birthday, and Eddie’s family was cognizant of the fact that Abuela wasn’t getting any younger, the entire Diaz clan was descending on L.A. to celebrate. Buck had briefly spoken to Eddie’s mother and younger sister on the phone, but Buck hadn’t been introduced to his father or any of Eddie’s older sisters. So Eddie was definitely worried.

Abuela had already spilled to beans to his sisters about Buck being his partner more in just the work-related sense and he was already being flooded with teasing messages that he’d resolutely muted and ignored. Eddie chewed his lip as he watched Buck help Christopher swing across the monkey bars. It made Eddie grin a little since he knew for a fact that Buck was holding all of Chris’s weight but still encouraging and praising him regardless. Buck looked over and he gave Eddie the soft smile that was reserved for him and Christopher only and was a sure-fire way to make Eddie feel all soft and warm.

Buck settled Christopher back onto the ground and said something to him quickly before leaving him to play on his own. Buck plopped down onto the grass next to Eddie and bumped their shoulders. “Hey,” Buck said and leaned in to press a kiss to the corner of Eddie’s mouth, as easy as anything in the world.

“Hey yourself,” Eddie said and bumped his nose against Buck’s temple.

“What’re you thinking about?” Buck asked, easily able to read Eddie. It was something that he was both very fond of and incredibly annoyed by. The mortifying ordeal of being known indeed.

“Abuela’s birthday party,” Eddie said softly, and he looked down at Buck’s hand, resting on Eddie’s thigh. He covered Buck’s hand and sighed heavily. “My whole family’s going to be there and I just-” Eddie scoffed in the back of his throat as he tried to think of the best way to explain.

“If you don’t want me there, Eddie…” Buck said cautiously, and Eddie jerked his head up at the almost wounded tone of Buck’s voice.

“It’s not that I don’t want you there,” Eddie assured him and gave his hand a squeeze. “I want you there. I just also want my family to like you.”

“I want them to like me too, you know.” When Eddie looked over at Buck, Buck didn’t seem worried in the slightest. “Besides, even if they don’t at first, Abuela says I’m _very_ charming.” He shot Eddie a wink that made Eddie’s ears burn despite shaking his head at Buck.

“You’re an idiot,” Eddie muttered but he felt a smile tugging at his mouth anyway.

With their hectic schedules, it felt like the party was there in no time at all. Eddie finished combing his freshly cleaned hair so that his mother wouldn’t fuss over him like he was still a kid Christopher’s age- it was one thing for his mother to do it in front of the family and another thing entirely for her to do it in front of Buck. Eddie helped Christopher button up his shirt since he’d misbuttoned it by himself, and then he, Buck and Chris were piling into Buck’s jeep. Eddie’s earlier worry came back and he felt his stomach twist up the closer that they got. Without missing a beat, Buck held onto Eddie’s hand with his own for the rest of the drive.

“Hey, Christopher, why don’t you hop out and grab the food while me and Dad talk for a second?” Buck said and Christopher nodded and unbuckled his seatbelt. Once Chris was out of the car and the door was closed firmly, Buck turned to Eddie. “Hey, everything alright?”

Eddie worked his jaw for a moment before he started to talk, his eyes on his and Buck’s hands instead of Buck’s eyes “My family never approved of Shannon. She never fit in with them. As a person, or a wife, or a mother. I don’t want them to treat you the way they treated her. I… I don’t want them to push you away. You’re good for Christopher and he adores you. And I love you, Buck.”

Buck tugged at Eddie’s hand to get his attention, ducking his head a little to catch Eddie’s eye. “I love you too, Eddie. You and Christopher are _everything_ to me. They’ll see that too.” Buck leaned over the console so that he could give Eddie a quick kiss. “Now, c’mon. We better go before Chris goes in without us.”

Eddie laughed and he dropped Buck’s hand so they could get out of the car. They walked in with Christopher between them and Buck grinned when Abuela tugged him down for a tight hug and pressed a kiss against both of his cheeks. “I should introduce you around,” Abuela said and looped her arm through Buck’s with a mischievous spark behind her smile that had Eddie feeling helpless to stop whatever was about to happen.

“Abuela, I can do that,” Eddie said with an edge of desperation to his tone.

“Maybe I want to show off my future grandson, Edmundo,” Abuela said and Eddie blushed at getting the first name treatment in conjunction with her words.

“Abuela!” Eddie said and he felt his neck burning at the way that Buck was blushing as well. “ _No puedes decir cosas así._ ”

“ _Es mi cumpleaños, puedo decir lo que quiera_ ,” she said with a shrug. Eddie threw his hands up in the air and tried not to roll his eyes at his abuela. She narrowed her eyes at him playfully before she tugged at Buck’s arm and they were off before Eddie could voice any more protests.

Eddie just stood there with a helpless expression. He felt someone clap their hand down on his shoulder and he nearly jumped out of his skin before he realized it was Aunt Pepa. “Don’t act like you didn’t know that was going to happen, _mi amor_.”

“I can hope, can’t I?” Eddie said resignedly before he took the plate out of Chris’s hands and set it aside before he swung Christopher up onto his hip. “Alright, kid, you and I are gonna have to keep an eye out for Buck so we can save him from Abuela and the rest of the family.” Christopher just laughed like Eddie was telling him a funny joke. “Go on and play with your cousins.” Eddie left Christopher to wander around with his sisters’ kids, knowing that the many adults milling around would keep an eye out for the kids. Eddie jogged over to where Abuela was showing Buck off in the middle of some of Eddie’s cousins. He nearly tripped when someone caught his arm, effectively stopping him in his tracks.

“Someone’s got Abuela wrapped around their finger.” Eddie turned to pull a face at his oldest sister, Gloria. “Your phone not working, Edmundo?”

“What?” Eddie asked, forgetting about how he’d all but blocked his sisters’ numbers. When Gloria gave him an unimpressed look, Eddie flushed and rolled his eyes. “Shut up. I was busy.”

“Looks like it,” Gloria said with her eyes flicking over to Buck pointedly.

“Stop that,” Eddie said, feeling like a teenager again. “I’m trying to go over there and save Buck so…” Eddie glared at her grip on his arm.

“Oh, he’s fine. Come on and talk to your sisters who haven’t seen you in forever.” Eddie shot a look over at Buck and then Christopher suddenly worrying that he hadn’t reminded his son to come save _him_. Gloria all but dragged him to a table where Gloria and Teresa were sitting with their spouses.

“Where’s Elena?” Eddie asked and twisted around to see if he could see his middle sister anywhere in the crowd.

“Around,” Gloria said and waved her hand vaguely. Eddie looked at her skeptically and narrowed his eyes at her. She scoffed and pointed to a chair in the imperious way that she’d always had when they were kids. “Sit.” Eddie plopped down into a chair while pulling a face at her.

“Good to see things haven’t changed very much between the Diaz siblings,” Gloria’s wife, Taylor said with a huge grin.

“How can it when we’ve hardly seen Eddie Spaghetti since he left the Army,” Teresa teased, her dimples coming out in full force.

“I’m a grown man with a kid of my own, can you _please_ stop calling me Eddie Spaghetti?” Eddie asked with a wince.

Teresa and Gloria looked at each other for a beat before answering in unison. “No.”

Eddie sighed and shook his head. “Monsters, every one of you.”

“Who’s a monster?” Eddie’s mother asked and leaned over Eddie’s shoulder to smile at him warmly.

“Your daughters,” Eddie said and leaned in to press a kiss to his mother’s cheek.

“Toughen up, Eddie,” Gloria said with a grin. Eddie stuck his tongue out at her childishly much to the amusement of his mother.

“How can I miss when they were kids when they still act like this when they’re together?” Eddie’s mother mused. “I thought you were bringing Evan?”

“It’s Buck, and I _did_ bring him. Abuela just stole him the second we walked in the door,” Eddie said and turned to try and see where Buck and his abuela even were at this point. “Should probably try to go and rescue him.”

“Rescue?” Teresa asked incredulously.

“Buck would do just about anything to make a good impression, and he’s never been good at saying no to Abuela. Where do you think Christopher learned to do puppy-dog eyes?” Eddie laughed as he stood up. “And I need a drink.”

He promised to come back to their table once he’d found Buck. He drifted around the party and found where the beers were sitting in a cooler. He grabbed two and then he spotted Buck- surprisingly- in the middle of the kids’ corner. He made his way over and grinned as he just listened to Buck telling a story about work, cleaned up for the age group, with Elena’s four year old son, Marcus, in his lap.

Buck grinned up at Eddie once he’d finished the story and he lifted Marcus up so that he could go over to Eddie. “Drink?” Eddie offered and held out one of the beers for Buck to take.

“You’re perfect,” Buck said and leaned in to press a quick kiss to Eddie’s lips before pulling away.

“Come on, my sisters are practically dying to meet you,” Eddie said and slipped his hand into Buck’s free one.

“You sure you’re ready for that?” Buck asked with a smug grin.

“Are you?” Eddie shot back. Buck blanched a little and Eddie tugged him into his side so that he could wrap an arm around Buck’s waist as they made their way back to the table. Both Eddie’s parents were standing there now, Gloria and Taylor sitting with Teresa and her husband, Nick, as well as Elena and Eddie’s college-aged younger sister, María. “Brace yourself,” Eddie muttered before putting on a smile.

“Everybody, this is my partner, Buck. Buck these are my parents,” Eddie said and gestured towards Helena and Ramon, “my oldest sister, Gloria and her wife, Taylor. My middle sisters Elena and Teresa, Teresa’s husband, Nick. And my baby sister, María.” Buck made sure to smile charmingly at all of them and shake their hands.

“Mom said that his name was Evan,” María said with a slight frown.

“It is,” Buck said. “Buck’s just a nickname. Nobody really calls me Evan except my parents,” a shadow passed over Buck’s face for a moment before he quickly continued on, “and my sister, but only when I’m in trouble.”

“If your name is Evan where did Buck come from?” Elena asked with a short laugh.

“My last name is Buckley.”

“And you work with Eddie, right?” Taylor asked, leaning into Gloria’s side.

“That’s how we met, yeah,” Buck said and with a grin as he sat down to launch into the story about how he and Eddie had met, got off the wrong foot, and the whole incident with the live grenade in the collector’s leg.

Elena laughed brightly when Buck told them about what Eddie had said after the ambulance had exploded. “Sounds like typical Eddie to me. There was this one time-”

“Nope,” Eddie said and quickly cut his sister off before she could launch into an embarrassing story from Eddie’s teenage years. “I think I strictly told you that there were going to be _no_ ‘Eddie was a dumb teenager’ stories.”

“Whatever you say…” Teresa said with a smirk, “Eddie Spaghetti.”

Eddie groaned and slumped down in his chair as Buck turned to him with a horribly familiar spark in his eyes. “Eddie Spaghetti?” Buck asked with too much glee in his voice.

“I hate all of you,” Eddie grumbled.

“And you gave me grief about Buck?” Buck laughed and Eddie rolled his eyes.

“You continue to go by that as an adult, voluntarily. Mine is forced upon me as cruel and unusual punishment by my sisters.”

“Poor baby,” Buck said with an exaggerated pout before leaning over to press a kiss against Eddie’s temple.

Eddie’s sisters and parents chatted with him and Buck for a bit and Eddie still couldn’t help but feel a little awkward and hypervigilant of every look they shared between them and each soft murmur of Spanish when they thought Eddie and Buck couldn’t hear them. Then Christopher was coming up and Buck was grinning and pulling Chris into his lap. Christopher grinned so brightly and just held onto Buck’s hands where they were around his waist comfortably.

“Buck,” Christopher said and tugged at Buck’s hands insistently.

“What’s up, kid?” Buck asked and leaned down so that he could hear Christopher better.

“I’m hungry, can we go get food?”

“Of course. You want me or Dad to come with you?” Buck asked and settled Chris back onto his feet.

“You,” Christopher said simply and kept a hold of one of Buck’s hands.

“Excuse me,” Buck said politely to the adults. “Be right back, babe.” Buck gave Eddie a kiss and Eddie just nodded before watching them go.

“You picked a good one, Eddie,” Eddie’s mother said and nudged his arm. “He’s so good with Christopher.”

“He is,” Eddie said proudly. “Kind of helps that he and Christopher were comfortable with each other before me and Buck started dating.”

Helena hummed and Ramon stared at Eddie thoughtfully. Eddie felt tense as he braced himself for whatever his father was going to say, having been fairly quiet before now. “Are you going to get married?” Ramon asked and Eddie nearly choked on his beer.

“Papi!” Eddie said and blushed. “We’ve only been dating for five months.”

“But you were close before then,” Elena said with a smirk. “You’ve been attached at the hip practically since you met and he’s been part of Christopher’s life for almost the whole time you’ve been in L.A.”

“I was also still married,” Eddie mumbled, not exactly thrilled at bringing up his marriage with his family knowing how they felt about Shannon. He didn’t want to start an argument, not when things were going so well.

“If you don’t show him that you’re committed, someone else might,” Teresa said gently and shrugged. “Good guys like him don’t come around often, Edmundo.” She gave him a level gaze and Eddie let out a harsh breath.

“We’re not ready for that,” Eddie said, effectively killing the conversation since Buck was coming back to the table. Buck settled a plate down between his and Eddie’s spaces and then pulled Christopher back into his lap and set Christopher’s plate in front of him so that he wouldn’t make a mess.

Little by little, Eddie’s immediate family drifted in and out to get drinks and food or just to go talk to other members of the family, leaving Eddie with Buck and Christopher mostly alone.

“You alright, Eds?” Buck asked quietly as Christopher went to toss his plate in the trash.

“Yeah,” Eddie said and leaned in to press their shoulders together.

Buck ducked his head to press a kiss against Eddie’s shoulder. “I know you’re grumpy because they’ve embarrassed you a little, but I’d kill to have a family gathering like this.” Eddie looked over to where Buck was still resting his chin on Eddie’s shoulder. Buck didn’t usually say much about his family and Eddie wasn’t going to push him to. He knew there had to be a story behind it that Buck wasn’t ready to share yet.

“You know you already are,” Eddie said. Buck blinked at him for a moment before pulling back a little so that he could pick up a fork and occupy himself with the food. Breaking the tension, Buck made an obscene noise in the back of his throat and glanced over at Eddie with a grin.

“This is amazing,” Buck said and pointed his fork at Eddie accusatorily. “How come you never cook like this at home?”

“I’ve got to be able to have a few surprises for you,” Eddie laughed and nudged Buck’s leg with his own.

“Ugh, you just keep getting more and more perfect. No wonder I didn’t like you when we met,” Buck teased and pressed his thigh against Eddie’s. He took another bite of food and Eddie felt his ears getting hot as Buck made another sound that was too close to being sexual for Eddie’s comfort in a room of his relatives. “Marry me, Eddie Diaz.”

Eddie laughed and shook his head. “Shut up, Buck.”

“Who said I wasn’t serious?” Buck demanded but his tone was light and so Eddie knew he was just joking around. Despite the way it made his stomach swoop at the thought. “I mean, look at you. Perfect trophy husband material.”

They both laughed at that and then Teresa was coming over and tugging at Eddie’s hands as the music started and some of their family started dancing. “You have to, Eddie! Nick’s an awful dancer and you’re so good!”

“Trophy husband,” Buck said with too much glee in his voice.

“I’m gonna lay you out here in a minute, Buckley” Eddie threatened.

“Bring it on, Diaz.”

“Gross, you two can have angry sex after Eddie dances with me,” Teresa said and Eddie was so thrown off by her comment that she was able to drag him out onto the floor, Buck’s bright laughter following them.

  1. **Painkillers**



Eddie tried not to fidget and show his agitation as they sat in the ER waiting room. Buck had landed himself in the hospital after a large piece of debris had come down and hit Buck soundly around the head. Hard enough to knock off his helmet and split open the side of his head.

Eddie had had to drag Buck from the building and Chim and Hen had tried to stem the bleeding, but head wounds were tricky about that. And then Buck had lost consciousness. They hadn’t heard from the doctors or nurses since Buck had been wheeled back.

Bobby settled in the chair next to him and clapped a fatherly hand down onto Eddie’s shoulder. “Buck’s gonna be fine. We all know he’s got a pretty thick skull.” Bobby meant the joke to be light and reassuring, but it just sat wrong with Eddie. He couldn’t help but think of how similarly Buck had looked on the backboard tonight as he had looked underneath the ladder truck. His stomach turned and Eddie had to swallow back the bile that threatened to come up.

“Yeah,” Eddie said tightly. He was thankfully saved from having to say more- or hear more from Bobby- because a nurse stepped up and called out Buck’s name. Eddie shot up and over to her. “Is he alright?” Eddie asked. The nurse gave him a calm smile.

“He needed a few stitches for the head wound but he didn’t lose enough blood to cause any great concern or warrant any transfusions, and he doesn’t seem to have a concussion. The helmet took the brunt of the force despite it’s falling off.” Eddie let out a rush of breath and had to force himself to not double over in relief. “He’s under some hefty pain medication right now, but he’s awake if you’d like to come and see him.”

“Please,” Bobby said and he set a hand on Eddie’s back.

“Follow me.” The nurse guided them and the rest of the team back through the halls and into a small room with a narrow hospital bed occupied by one Evan Buckley. For a moment, Eddie thought that Buck might have fallen asleep, but then he perked up at the sight of the 118.

“Hey guys!” Buck said, his eyes a little too bright and unfocused and his smile a little too loose.

“How you feelin’, Buckaroo?” Chimney asked with clear amusement as they walked over to the side of the bed.

“Ah, I’m fine,” Buck said and waved his hand uncoordinatedly. “Got some stitches though. They’re itchy.” Buck lifted his hand up like he was going to scratch at where his stitches were covered with a bandage, but Eddie quickly and gently caught his wrist. Buck turned and he all but melted at the sight of Eddie. “Eddie.”

“Hey, you,” Eddie said and just held Buck’s hand, stroke his thumb over the back of Buck’s hand.

“I love you,” Buck said out of nowhere and Hen stifled a laugh by covering it as a cough. “Like, so much, Eddie.”

“I know, Buck,” Eddie said and felt a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

“I should ask you to marry me.” Buck nodded and Eddie felt his cheeks get hot at the way Bobby was looking at the two of them. “Oh, I can do that now. Eddie, hey, Eddie,” Buck said in a very loud whisper as he tugged on Eddie’s arm. “Will you marry me?”

“Maybe we should talk about this after you’ve had some time to sleep off those meds,” Eddie said placatingly and pressed a kiss to the top of Buck’s head.

“Good idea,” Buck said around a yawn and leaned against Eddie’s chest contentedly. “Just don’t let me forget.”

“Oh, none of us is going to let you forget,” Chimney said with a huge grin that only spelled trouble for Buck in the long run.

  1. **Sick**



Christopher was absolutely miserable and Eddie felt his heart constrict at how Christopher looked tucked up under extra blankets on the couch. A few kids in Chris’s class had come to school with the flu before their parents had realized that it was more than a cold and now Christopher was sick.

Eddie went back to the kitchen so he could get everything ready for when Carla showed up so Eddie and Buck could go to work. He filled up some spill-resistant cups with cold water and Powerade for Christopher as well as setting out some nonmedicated throat lozenges in the flavors that Christopher would actually put in his mouth. They’d had quite a bit of trial and error with that since he’d come down with a sore throat.

Eddie went over and sat down on the edge of the couch and brushed Christopher’s sweaty hair away from his forehead. “Hey, Superman,” Eddie said softly and kept his voice quiet so that Christopher wouldn’t get a headache.

“Daddy,” Christopher said, his voice scratchy, and held out his arms so he could cling to Eddie’s front.

“You feeling any better?” Eddie asked and rubbed Christopher’s back gently. Christopher simply shook his head tiredly and pressed in closer to Eddie’s chest.

“Do you have to go to work?” Christopher whimpered.

“Yeah, I do,” Eddie said reluctantly. “But I’ll be back before you even know it.”

“And Buck too?” Christopher asked, his voice getting thick and watery with tears.

“You know we’ve got to go, Christopher,” Eddie said as gently as possible as he eased Christopher back to laying down. “But Carla’s going to come and look after you. I’ve got everything set up so you can just focus on getting better.”

“I want you to stay,” Christopher cried, and Eddie felt a stab of guilt. Christopher rarely was so dependent. It was one of the things that Eddie so admired about his son, so to feel him cling like that and to hear how badly he wanted Eddie to stay, it was hard to say no.

“I know,” Eddie soothed and he gently combed Christopher’s hair back from his face. “But I have to go.” Eddie leaned down and pressed a lingering kiss to Christopher’s head. “You know you can have Carla call me whenever you need. Right?”

“Yeah,” Christopher said and he was already starting to fall back asleep, too sick to really keep himself awake for very long. Eddie made sure that Christopher was asleep before he pulled away and went down to his bedroom to start getting ready for the day.

He was surprised to see that Buck was still in bed, completely asleep. Eddie rolled his eyes fondly before he sat down so he could wake Buck up. When he touched Buck’s back, his skin was hot and sweaty and Eddie frowned. He gently shook Buck’s shoulder. “Buck, babe, wake up.”

Buck’s reaction was sluggish and he didn’t seem all there. “What?” Buck asked and his voice was raspy in the same way that Christopher’s was. “What time is it?”

“I was going to say time for work, but…” Eddie trailed off and put the back of his hand against Buck’s forehead. It was burning up. “I should take your temperature.”

“I’m fine,” Buck said and he went to push himself to sit up, but his arms were shaky and he fell back into the bed with an exhausted sigh.

“No you’re not. I think you caught the flu,” Eddie said and he immediately went into problem solving mode. He got the thermometer from the bathroom and had Buck put it in his mouth. He waited a handful of minutes before checking Buck’s temperature and sighed heavily. “Yeah, you’re sick. It’s 103.”

“Shit,” Buck mumbled into his pillow. “I should call Bobby.” Buck weakly fumbled for his phone, but Eddie caught his wrist.

“I’ll call Bobby.” Eddie smoothed his hand over the back of Buck’s head before he picked up the phone and tapped Bobby’s number. He pressed it to his ear and walked into the bathroom so that Buck could try and get some more rest while Eddie talked.

“Hey, Buck,” Bobby answered.

“It’s Eddie, actually,” Eddie said and shifted the phone to his other ear. “Buck’s caught the flu from Christopher, so he’s definitely not going to make it in today.” Eddie scratched at the back of his neck.

“Of course. We don’t want him here getting everyone else sick.”

“Exactly. So I might be a little late since I’m-”

Bobby cut him off. “Take the day, Eddie. Focus on them. I can call in someone else to cover you and Buck.”

Eddie squirmed. “Really, Cap, it’s okay. I’m fine.”

“Then you’ll be perfect to take care of Buck and Christopher for the day. So take the day. That’s an order.” Eddie felt a small smile tugging at his mouth.

“Yes, sir. Thank you, Bobby.”

“We’ll see you when you get back.”

Eddie said goodbye and then hung up the phone. He let out a heavy sigh before he went out into the living room to gently gather Christopher up off the couch. He stayed firmly asleep as Eddie carried him into his bedroom. If both of them were sick, Eddie might as well contain the germs to one room. Eddie settled Christopher on his side of the bed and smoothed Chris’s hair back before tucking the blankets around Buck’s shoulders.

He called Carla and told her that he wasn’t going to be going into work so there was little point in her coming here and maybe getting sick. She made him promise to call if he needed an extra pair of hands. He assured her that he would.

While Buck and Christopher slept, Eddie stripped Christopher’s sheets off his bed and tossed them into the washing machine before he went through the boy’s room and disinfected everything. Then he disinfected the living room where Christopher had been all set up for the day. He hated how the room smelled of Lysol, but better that then all of them just getting sick again.

“Eddie!” It was Buck’s raspy voice calling him and Eddie bolted down to his bedroom.

“What’s going on? Everyone alright?” Eddie asked and looked between the two of them.

“Christopher was calling you,” Buck said tiredly. “You couldn’t hear him.”

“Daddy,” Christopher called and his voice was faint and crackling, like he was starting to lose his voice.

“I’m here,” Eddie said and sat down beside him. “What do you need?”

“My throat hurts.” Christopher whined and once again clung onto the hem of Eddie’s t-shirt.

“Think you can stay awake long enough to have a lozenge?” Eddie asked. He didn’t want Christopher falling asleep with one in his mouth and choking. Christopher nodded and Eddie watched him for a moment before going and getting one of the cherry flavored ones for Christopher and a menthol one for Buck. “Alright,” Eddie said and lifted Christopher up so he was propped up against Eddie’s chest. “There you go.” He gave Christopher his before tapping Buck on the shoulder. “You should have one too before you start hurting.”

Buck sat up tiredly, slumping a little against Eddie’s shoulder once he was completely upright, and popped the cough drop into his mouth. He shivered a little in the cooler air of the room and Eddie wrapped his arm around Buck’s shoulders and rubbed gently to try and keep him warm.

“How about I make you boys some soup for lunch?” Eddie offered quietly as he sat between their overly warm bodies. “Then a shower and some vapor rub to help with all that congestion.”

“Marry me,” Buck said, his voice thick around the cough drop and with congestion.

Christopher laughed and it turned into a cough before he slumped back against Eddie’s chest tiredly. “Buck’s silly, Daddy,” Christopher said around a yawn. Eddie just quirked a smile before he pressed a kiss to the back of his head. “I’m done with my lozenge can I lay down now?”

“Of course,” Eddie said, and he shifted so that he could lay Christopher back down gently, tucking the covers around him. Eddie went around the bed and checked on Buck. “When you’re done with that, I’d say you should lay down and try to get some more sleep too,” Eddie said and stroked Buck’s sweat-damp hair back from his forehead. Buck just nodded and leaned into Eddie’s touch. Buck swallowed and then shuffled down on the bed and Eddie tucked the covers around him too.

“I love you,” Buck said and he tilted his head up for a kiss.

“I’m not kissing you until you’re not contagious anymore. Sorry, Buck,” Eddie apologized when Buck whined. “Get some sleep.” Buck hummed but Eddie was sure that he was already completely conked out. He smiled at the sight of his two boys curled up in bed, finally at least a little comfortable, before he went out to the kitchen to fix some soup.

  1. **After a nightmare**



It wasn’t often that Buck stayed the night at his apartment. He’d all but officially moved into Eddie’s house, but Eddie respected that Buck wasn’t quite ready for that level of commitment. It was one of those rare nights that Buck and Eddie weren’t on the same shift, it being Buck’s day off, so Buck had decided to sleep at his place so that he wouldn’t be in the way of Eddie and Christopher’s morning routine.

Eddie woke up with a jolt and for a moment he wasn’t sure why until he saw the way his phone was lighting up and vibrating against his side table. He grabbed it and thumbed the accept button after giving the contact name a cursory glance and realizing it was Buck.

“Hey, Buck,” Eddie said, rubbing at his eyes sleepily.

“Eddie?” Buck asked, his voice shaky and panicky and Eddie’s stomach knotted up.

“Are you alright?” Eddie asked and sat up, throwing the blankets back. There was a long moment of silence. “Buck? Buck, babe, are you alright?”

“I…” Buck hesitated quietly. “I had a nightmare and I really don’t want to be alone right now.”

“Do you want me to come to you?” Eddie asked and moved over to his drawer to tug a t-shirt over his head.

“But Christopher,” Buck protested weakly.

“The kid sleeps like a log, I could load him into the car and have him tucked in on your couch without him knowing a thing,” Eddie said and he waited for Buck’s answer. There wasn’t any sound except the way that the line buzzed. “Buck…”

“Please, Eddie,” Buck said, his voice cracking a little.

“I’ll be right there,” Eddie said and he hung up the phone, tucked it into his pocket, and went to get Christopher bundled up and into the truck. As he’d said, Christopher didn’t stir at all as Eddie shoved a change of clothes into Eddie’s work duffle alongside his own work clothes and extra set of civvies, or as Eddie buckled him into his booster seat.

It’s not a long drive to Buck’s apartment since there’s no one out on the road at the late hour, so Eddie’s opening up the door with his spare key soon enough. He’s got his duffle looped over his shoulder and Christopher settled against his chest wrapped in a cocoon of blanket. Buck comes down the stairs and Eddie gives him a look that tells him to be quiet. Buck nods and he takes Eddie’s bag while Eddie takes Christopher over to the couch and gets him settled. Then he makes his way over to Buck and pulls him into a tight hug.

“I’m here,” Eddie said soothingly and rubbed his back gently as Buck shuddered beneath his hands. “I’m right here, Buck. You’re safe.” Buck pressed his mouth against Eddie’s shoulder to stifle a sob and Eddie gently guided them up into the loft where Buck’s bed was so that they wouldn’t have to worry as much about Christopher waking up due to the noise.

Once they were upstairs, Buck pulled Eddie into a rough, desperate kiss that surprised Eddie a little. Eddie held Buck’s waist steadily and kissed him back. He nearly jumped out of his skin when Buck started tugging at his clothes like he was going to strip them off of Eddie.

“Hey, whoa, let’s just… cool it for a second,” Eddie said and held Buck’s hands gently in his own, noticing the way that Buck’s hands were shaking.

“Marry me,” Buck interjected, and Eddie was shocked by the panicked sincerity behind Buck’s eyes. “I don’t want to be alone anymore, Eddie. I want you to marry me.”

Eddie had to be careful and he knew it. He stroked his thumbs over Buck’s hands gently. “What did you have a nightmare about, Evan?” Eddie asked gently.

Buck squirmed uncomfortably. “About the tsunami… and a little about my accident.” Eddie noticed the way that Buck was avoiding putting weight on his injured leg despite Eddie knowing that it rarely ever bothered him.

“You want to tell me about it?” Eddie asked and tugged Buck towards the bed so that they could sit down.

“I was pinned beneath the truck again,” Buck started, his voice stilted and awkward. “And then the water… it just started rising and I couldn’t get free and then I saw-” Buck swallowed thickly and he shut his eyes, looking like he was going to be sick.

“It’s okay,” Eddie said and he gave Buck’s hands a gentle squeeze. “You’re safe now, Buck. You’re not under that truck and there’s not any water.” Eddie tugged him into another tight hug and Buck clung onto him desperately for a while before he finally stopped shaking and managed to relax a little.

“Thank you for coming,” Buck said, a touch of embarrassment in his voice as he pulled away and swiped his hand over his face. “And I didn’t mean to- it sounded bad because of…” Buck shifted awkwardly and tucked his hands under his thighs.

“It’s okay, Buck,” Eddie said and leaned in to press a feather-light kiss to Buck’s lips. “We don’t have to even talk about it now if you don’t want to.” Buck nodded, his eyes still closed from when Eddie kissed him. “Let’s get some sleep.” Eddie shifted so that Buck could lay down and then he shuffled behind Buck, wrapping his arms around Buck’s waist and just holding him.

  1. **The prize in the cereal**



It was stupid, in all honesty. But if Eddie was weak for anything, it was for his two boys.

Christopher’s favorite cereal was putting these scrambled codes inside the boxes and every so many boxes had an actual decoder ring inside so that they could be read. Christopher had been absolutely obsessed with the idea of it after Buck had explained and now he was determined he was going to find one.

So Buck had bought a copious amount of cereal and he and Christopher had been opening the boxes and taking the bags out so that they could see if they had finally gotten the coveted decoder ring. Eddie had simply rolled is eyes and left them to it, knowing that it was very unlikely that they would find what they were looking for but not willing to burst their bubble.

He was tossing another load of laundry into the washer when he heard Christopher screech and his heart kicked up in his chest as Buck called for him urgently. Eddie raced into the kitchen and he was just about to ask what had happened when Buck twisted towards him with the decoder ring held in his hand towards Eddie.

“Eddie Diaz will you marry-”

Eddie cut him off, a little irritated that the two of them had nearly given him a heart attack. “I thought something bad had happened, that Christopher was hurt.”

Buck’s teasing smile fell and he looked a little sheepish. “Sorry, Eddie. He got excited and wanted you to see,” Buck said and bit his lip.

Eddie let out a breath and shook his head at the two of them before he held out his hand for the decoder ring. Buck brightened up a little again when he handed it over to Eddie. It wasn’t a cheapy plastic one, it was a nice smooth metal, and honestly Eddie was a little impressed.

“As nice as this is, it’s still a little disappointing as engagement rings go,” Eddie joked flatly as he handed it back to Buck. Buck blushed but let out a laugh when Christopher did as well.

“Think you could do better?” Buck asked challengingly as he stood up, brushing his knees off as he leaned his hip against the back of Christopher’s chair.

“I know I could,” Eddie said. “You forget, I’ve done this before. And I’d say I did a pretty good job.”

“Momma’s ring _was_ pretty,” Christopher said as he started decoding the little booklets from the other boxes of cereal.

“Well,” Buck said with a small grin. “We’ll just have to see about that.” Eddie’s ears burned at the implication and he bit his lip as a plan started to form in the back of his mind.

**+1 Valentine’s Day**

Eddie was never really sure about Valentine’s Day. When he and Shannon were together, she’d said that she’d never been able to get behind the holiday. And even if she had, for so many Valentine’s Days Eddie had been in Afghanistan or they’d been apart for other reasons.

Buck was the total opposite. He’d gotten Christopher a card and a little bag of Christopher’s favorite sour gummy worms and left them in Christopher’s backpack to find when he was at school. He’d even collaborated with Christopher to make little paper heart chains that they’d taped up in the kitchen to decorate a little bit.

Eddie had decided that since Buck was so into the holiday that he was going to go ahead and try to make tonight special, in a plethora of ways. Eddie had bought the ring when they’d responded to a call near a pawn shop and it had caught his eye. He’d bought it then and worried about it ever since. He’d asked Hen if she thought it was too plain, but she’d assured Eddie that Buck wouldn’t care a bit what it looked like, just that it was Eddie giving it to him and what it meant for the two of them.

Eddie knew that trying to make a reservation tonight was going to be impossible, so he’d started working on an at-home date night. He’d managed to weasel a recipe or two out of Bobby for the night, and since his shift ended a few hours before Buck’s he’d have just enough time to make everything work. He just had to keep his cool long enough so that Buck wouldn’t think that something was up. That was going to be the hard part.

Their shift was fairly uneventful, thankfully, and when it was time for Eddie’s shift to be over, he tried not to let his nerves shine through as he waved to everyone and gave Buck a quick peck. “See you at home?” Eddie asked casually and Buck nodded with a bright smile that warmed Eddie down to his toes.

Eddie tapped out a text to his aunt to make sure Christopher was all settled and he felt himself relax a little when she told him to focus on his date and leave Christopher to her. He tucked his phone into his pocket and he drove home, swinging by the store to pick up the last minute things he needed.

The second he got home he went to work on dinner because he only had a few hours before Buck got home and Eddie wanted everything to be perfect. When he’d finished up with the chicken and gotten it into the oven and the sauce for the pasta made and simmering, he dashed down to his and Buck’s- since Buck had moved in right before Christmas- bedroom. He rifled around for a nice shirt and he decided that he’d go with his short-sleeved back one because Buck was always a little handsier with him when he wore it. He put on a nice pair of dark jeans and tucked his shirt in before going to the bathroom. He combed his hair and then squatted down so he could open up the cabinet beneath the sink to dig around for where he’d hidden the ring. He pulled it out and wiped the box off with a towel before opening it up to make sure the ring was still there. It shone in it’s dark blue velvet bed and Eddie let out a soft sigh of relief before he snapped the box shut and slipped it into his pocket.

He was putting the finishing touches on dinner when he heard Buck’s jeep roll up and Eddie’s stomach twisted hard enough that it made his chest ache. He nearly burned his fingers on the match that he was holding to light the candles he’d set out on the table. He quickly blew the match out before dousing it in cold water and chucking it into the garbage. He brushed his hands off on his jeans as he made his way into the living room, heart thudding against his ribs, so that he could greet Buck at the door.

To say that Buck looked shocked when he opened the door was an understatement. His eyes widened and his mouth dropped open to see Eddie standing there, shifting on his feet nervously, in the dimmed light with candles lit on the table.

“Babe,” Buck said and set his duffle bag down by the door. “I thought you said you didn’t do Valentine’s Day.”

“I don’t. Usually. But- uh- well, you do and I wanted to do something nice.” Eddie would normally tuck his hands into his pockets but he didn’t want Buck’s attention brought to his pockets. He was worried that Buck would know that he had a ring there. “So, go get changed and… I made dinner.” Eddie pointed his thumb over his shoulder with a sheepish smile.

Buck walked forward and he hooked a finger in the collar of Eddie’s shirt before tugging him in for a kiss that sent heat down into Eddie’s stomach. “I will be right back,” Buck said and gave Eddie another quick kiss before heading to their bedroom, presumably, to change.

Eddie let out a soft breath and he went into the kitchen to pour the white whine that he’d bought just to give himself something to do. He felt like he was going to drive himself up the wall with nerves, but he wanted to wait and find the right moment.

Buck came back in and Eddie’s mouth went dry as he took him in. He was in a sinfully tight, dark red button up and what Eddie had labeled his favorite pair of Buck’s jeans. They were a worn blue, and half the time they looked like they’d been painted on Buck’s thighs.

“Hey,” Buck said and he leaned in to kiss Eddie again, but this time it was agonizingly slow.

Eddie pulled back with a slight furrow in his brow. “None of that until after dinner. I didn’t beg Bobby for recipes for tonight to not actually eat what I cooked,” Eddie teased and gave Buck another quick peck before taking his glass and the bottle over to the table.

“Fair enough,” Buck laughed.

Dinner was really nice. Of course, Bobby’s recipes were perfect and it helped to assuage some of the nerves that were choking Eddie up a little bit. And if Eddie drank just a little more than normal, Buck didn’t notice or was graceful enough to comment on it. They ended up on the couch after both of them cleaning up the dinner dishes, just talking and Eddie was stroking his thumb over Buck’s knee softly as he listened to Buck telling a story about a call they’d gotten after Eddie had clocked out.

“What?” Buck asked after a moment and Eddie raised an eyebrow. “Why’re you looking at me like that?” Eddie felt something tugging at his ribs and he knew that this was the best moment he was going to get.

“Nothing really, I just… really love you, Buck.” Eddie reached into his pocket and he took a deep breath. “I know we’ve made jokes and kind of danced around it, but I can’t- or rather I won’t- imagine my life without you in it.” Eddie shifted off the couch so that he was kneeling in front of Buck with a small smile tugging at his face. “So,” Eddie said seriously and opened the box that he’d pulled from his pocket, “Evan Buckley, will you marry me?”

Buck’s breath caught in his chest and he looked between the ring and Eddie’s face and then Eddie had a lapful of Buck as the other kissed him fiercely muttering a single word over and over against Eddie’s lips. “Yes.” Eddie pulled back and he couldn’t help but feel light as he plucked the ring from the box and he held it up between them. Buck’s grin was blinding as Eddie slipped the ring onto his finger and then tangled their fingers together. “I love you,” Buck said and ducked in to kiss Eddie again. Then he stiffened and he pulled away. “Wait, does Christopher know about this? Is he alright with it?”

Eddie snorted. “Christopher has been asking my why I haven’t asked you to marry me yet since the decoder ring incident,” Eddie said and put his hands onto Buck’s hips to steady him. “I’m confident that he’s going to be perfectly alright with his Buck becoming _our_ Buck permanently.”

“I like that idea too,” Buck said and brushed their noses together tenderly. Eddie grinned and he couldn’t help but feel something settle in his chest despite the awkward weight of Buck on his legs and the way that the coffee table was digging into his shoulders.

No one at the station was surprised when Buck showed up with the shiny silver band on his finger for their next shift, and Christopher- as predicted- was over the moon.

**Author's Note:**

> Got this idea yesterday and thought it'd be perfect for a Valentine's Day fic so here you all are! As always, the Spanish is from translate so if it's not right, I apologize.  
> https://lalaserengraving.com/product/la-s0130/ <\- Buck's engagement ring  
> -James


End file.
